


Madam Longbottom's Appointment Book

by seekeronthepath



Series: Correspondence [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: BAMF Women, Gen, Hermione works for the Ministry, Hermione's career, Mentorship, More tags to be added, Other characters will show up later, yes this will include personal life and not just work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2019-11-01 13:33:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17868182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekeronthepath/pseuds/seekeronthepath
Summary: After graduating from Hogwarts, Hermione Granger was offered a job as the personal secretary of Augusta Longbottom, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. This is what happened next.(This work runs in parallel to both 'Apprenticeship' and 'Whatever Happened to Draco Malfoy?', and will cover some of the familiar characters we haven't seen much of in those works, along with plenty of screen time for the badass ladies of 'Age and Wisdom'.)





	1. Monday, June 22nd, 11:15 am: Interview with Hermione Granger

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Français available: [L'agenda de Madame Londubat](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20299366) by [Matteic_FR (Matteic)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matteic/pseuds/Matteic_FR)



"Come in, Miss Granger."

Apprehensively, Hermione tucked her book back into her bag and stood, giving the clerk outside Chief Warlock Augusta Longbottom's office a nervous smile. He was busy dealing with teetering stacks of paperwork, however, and did not acknowledge her. Well. She supposed she wasn't much interested in other people when she was busy either. Taking a deep breath, Hermione smoothed down her robes one last time, and stepped into the office.

Augusta Longbottom, her desk equally covered in paperwork, looked up at her and nodded approvingly. "Good morning, Miss Granger. Take a seat."

"Good morning, Madam Longbottom," Hermione said politely, sitting down in front of the desk. The furniture was very old-fashioned in here, older than almost anything else she'd seen around the Ministry. She supposed it made sense, all things considered. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me."

Augusta huffed. "Time is one thing we don't have much of around here," she said dryly. "So I'll get straight to the point. I need a secretary, and you need a job. The question is whether you are the right secretary, and this is the right job."

Hermione nodded, biting her tongue so she wouldn't babble. She knew she tended to babble when she was nervous, and Augusta wouldn't appreciate it.

"I am aware that you are quite politically minded, Miss Granger," Augusta said, meeting Hermione's gaze. "Potentially, that may serve you well here. However, you are also very outspoken, and that will not. As judge and arbitrator, the Chief Warlock must be scrupulously fair, and it is imperative that my staff appear politically neutral. There must be absolutely no doubt that, should either of them come into my office, Lord Potter and Lord Malfoy would receive exactly the same treatment." Augusta pursed her lips briefly. "I recognise that doing so may be unpalatable to you, and of course I will not bar you from holding political opinions, or indeed from discreetly discussing them with trusted friends. But to succeed at this post, you must cultivate a reputation for absolute impartiality. Will you be capable of doing that, Miss Granger?"

Hermione opened her mouth, then closed it again. Would she? She'd have to give up on promoting the the House Elf Welfare Society - although she had been taking a break because of her NEWTS and the war, but that was because she couldn't manage it. Agreeing not to campaign against injustice for the sake of her career...could she do that? But then, after a year of working for Augusta, she'd be so much better positioned to make change, surely it was worth it? And she might be able to get Neville or Harry to push for house elf welfare in the meantime. Decision made, Hermione nodded. "I can do that, ma'am."

“Good.” Augusta smiled slightly. “Now, then. I am assured that you are well-organised, clearly-spoken, and your handwriting is excellent for a Muggleborn - which is good, as your first duty will be to manage my correspondence. Are you familiar with formal letter-writing conventions?”

“...somewhat,” Hermione replied, trying not to let the comment about her handwriting sting. “But I’m a quick learner.”

Augusta hummed. “Then for now, you will take dictation. I expect you to devote serious attention to improving your understanding of formal etiquette, as you will be mingling with the highest echelons of society on a regular basis, and must appear professional at all times. Assuming today’s trial is satisfactory to both of us, you will receive an advance on your first week’s salary; I advise you to spend some of it on acquiring a suitable wardrobe.”

Hermione bit her tongue and nodded. Maybe she could ask Susan or Hannah for advice - she’d thought she looked perfectly professional already, but apparently Augusta had different standards than she was expecting. And after the clothes shopping, she could reward herself with a trip to the bookshop. Maybe she’d pick up some etiquette books while she was there.

“You will assist Mr Dunbar for the rest of the day,” Augusta informed her. “The Wizengamot clerical staff have thus far been undertaking the secretarial duties of your position in addition to their own customary administrative ones, so he is currently the best suited to instruct you. Should today’s trial be successful, you will be working closely with the Wizengamot staff, so I would pay close attention.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Hermione agreed. She wanted this job. The people she would meet here would give her the connections she needed to make real change, to make a reputation as something other than ‘Harry Potter’s Muggleborn friend’.

Augusta gestured at the door, dismissing her. “Get to work, then,” she said, not unkindly. “And Ms Granger? I’m sure you’ll do well.”


	2. Thursday, June 24th, 3:30pm: Review of Wizengamot Agenda with Minister Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Near the end of her first week on the job, Hermione has a conversation with Minister Bones

The first week of Hermione’s new job was, frankly, exhausting. Every day had four hours of trials as they worked through the backlog of arrests and tried to keep up with new cases coming in, and the volume of correspondence was similarly intense. A veritable flood of mail arrived for Madam Longbottom each day: partly interdepartmental memos, partly official applications, partly personal correspondence, and partly what Hermione had started thinking of as ‘begging letters’. Under Sam’s supervision, Hermione spent most of the week separating out the confidential and urgent requests for immediate review, and adding summary cards to everything else.

(“The problem,” he had explained, “is that any sort of sorting spell needs clearly defined parameters of what it’s sorting by. Books are much easier, because the title and the author is a very strong part of a book’s ‘identity’. It’s easy for the magic to latch on to.”

Files and correspondence, on the other hand, were messier. And the more parameters you tried to add to a spell, the harder it was to actually execute. So the Ministry archives had developed the runework for summary cards, which had fields for date, relevant department, and person concerned, and were each linked by Protean Charm to a duplicate in the index. In the decades since they were invented, their use had apparently become quite well-regarded in the wizarding library and archive world, to the extent that the Ministry now produced them for sale, each set keyed to a specific index. The enchanted jewels used to key your search were closely guarded, and Hermione was warned  _ very _ thoroughly about what would happen if she misplaced the one for Madam Longbottom’s correspondence.)

So it was that Hermione was skimming and summarising various letters and memos when Minister Bones arrived in front of her desk.

 

Catching a glimpse of dark grey robes out of the corner of her eye, Hermione glanced up, then startled. Had she lost track of time? She thought the Minister wasn’t due for another ten minutes! “Madam Bones!” she exclaimed, hurrying to stand. 

“No, no, don’t get up,” Minister Bones said with a slightly tired smile. “I’m not in a rush, I just took the opportunity to get out of my office a little early. Augusta isn’t expecting me yet, but I wanted to clear my head.”

Hermione could sympathise with that, she supposed, but she was fairly sure Madam Longbottom wouldn’t be happy if she just sat at her desk while the Minister was here. “Of course, ma’am,” she agreed, going over to the cabinet in the corner. “Would you like some tea? You’re welcome to sit down.” So far this week she must have made dozens of cups of tea for Madam Longbottom’s visitors. She’d accidentally made it magically at breakfast this morning instead of using the kettle, which had made her mum give her a very odd look. That was the problem with the underage magic laws - parents of Muggleborns didn’t get a chance to properly get used to magic until their children were adults.

“Tea would be lovely,” Madam Bones said, “but I’ll stand, thank you. How are you finding working at the Ministry?”

It was very odd to be having this sort of conversation with the  _ Minister _ , but Hermione was starting to get used to all the important people who came and went through this office, and it helped to remember that Harry, Neville, and Sirius were all just as important as most of them. “There’s a lot to learn,” Hermione said politely as she heated the water. “I read as much as I could before I started, of course, but there really is very little taught about the workings of the Wizengamot and Ministry at Hogwarts.”

Minister Bones nodded thoughtfully. “Most children would learn it at home, I suppose,” she agreed. “You think the school should spend more time on law and government?”

“It would have more practical application than goblin rebellions,” Hermione said sharply, biting back a comment about the children who  _ couldn’t _ learn it at home. She took a deep breath through her nose, and reminded herself as she poured the tea that she was required to be impartial. “But then, I’m sure there are reasons behind the design of the history curriculum that I haven’t spotted yet. Or perhaps it’s simply that Professor Binns struggled to communicate its intent effectively.”

Minister Bones raised an eyebrow, taking her tea with a nod and adding a spoonful of sugar. “I take your point,” she said drily. “And I’ll keep it in mind. We’ll make a politician of you yet, Miss Granger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters in this fic are probably going to continue to be quite short, as each individual one functions as a single scene within a larger 'section' of the fic. However, because I'm writing them so sporadically (as illustrated by the fact that it's been five months since the last one - sorry!), I'm going to post them as I finish them, because feedback is a huge motivator for me.
> 
> So if you like the premise, or if you have ideas for Hermione's experiences on the job, please comment!


End file.
